For centuries, European artists have grappled with representations of Africans and the broader African continent. We learned this the hard way… From the colonial-era ethnographic portraits to the Orientalist fantasies of the 19th century, these artistic depictions have often perpetuated harmful stereotypes and exoticised the “other.” While crucial strides have been made in decolonizing institutions and reexamining these fraught legacies, the challenge of how to ethically conserve and contextualise such works remains an ongoing struggle.
Now, this might seem counterintuitive…
One key example is the case of the American Colony Photo Department in Jerusalem. Established in the late 19th century by a group of American Christian utopians, the department produced thousands of photographs documenting life in Ottoman Palestine. These images, ranging from scenic landscapes to intimate portraits of local residents, were widely circulated globally as postcards and publications. However, many of these photographs betrayed a colonial gaze, objectifying their Arab and Jewish subjects.1
One artist who engaged extensively with the American Colony’s photographic archive was the Christian Arab painter Nicola Saig (1881-1931). Saig, who was trained in the Russian Orthodox icon painting tradition, appropriated the department’s hand-coloured photographs as source material for his own genre paintings. In works like The Cobbler (c.1910), Saig transformed a documentary-style snapshot into a richly-hued, almost devotional representation of a Palestinian artisan. While Saig’s paintings demonstrated his technical virtuosity, they also reflected the complex dynamics of centre and periphery, coloniser and colonised, that shaped artistic production in early 20th century Palestine.
Indeed, Saig’s work points to the deeper entanglements between European art traditions, colonial power structures, and local artistic practices across the Middle East and North Africa. As scholars like the late Rhonda Saad have shown, the development of “modern” and “contemporary” Arab art was fundamentally shaped by these intersecting histories.2 Artists often had to navigate the demands of European-influenced institutions, markets, and canons, while also drawing upon indigenous aesthetic and cultural references.
This fraught legacy poses significant challenges for how we approach the conservation and interpretation of such artworks today. On one hand, Saig’s paintings showcase remarkable technical mastery and a nuanced understanding of visual culture in his local context. Yet they also implicate him, to some degree, in the colonial project of aestheticizing and exoticizing Arab subjects for a European audience. Similarly, the American Colony’s photographs, while of immense historical value, cannot be divorced from their roots in Christian missionary activity and the unequal power dynamics of the late Ottoman era.
So how do we, as art historians, curators, and conservators, responsibly engage with this artistic legacy? One approach is to centre the perspectives and lived experiences of the communities depicted, foregrounding their agency and subjectivity rather than treating them as passive objects. This could involve collaborating with Palestinian and Arab institutions and artists to recontextualise and display such works. It may also necessitate rethinking traditional conservation practices that have valorized the “original” artefact above all else.
As the art world continues to grapple with the legacies of colonialism, decolonial methodologies offer promising pathways forward. By centering marginalized voices, historicizing the production and circulation of artworks, and challenging Eurocentric frameworks, we can begin to “own the exotic” – to reclaim and reframe these problematic representations on our own terms.3 It’s a difficult and ongoing process, but one that is essential if we are to build a more inclusive, equitable, and just art ecosystem.
Decolonizing the Archive: Challenging Dominant Narratives
A key aspect of this decolonial approach is to critically examine the archives and institutions that have historically shaped the canon of art history. As the case of the American Colony Photo Department illustrates, many of these archives are inextricably linked to colonial enterprises and the power dynamics of the past. Unraveling these connections is crucial if we are to rewrite the dominant narratives.
One crucial step is to foreground the agency of the communities depicted in these archives, rather than treating them as passive subjects. This might involve collaborating with local institutions and artists to recontextualize and display the works, centering their perspectives and lived experiences. It may also necessitate rethinking traditional conservation practices that have valorized the “original” artefact above all else.
Additionally, we might want to be attentive to the ways in which these archives have been constructed and curated. What stories have been privileged, and which have been obscured or marginalized? How have the organizing principles of these archives reflected the biases and blindspots of their creators? By interrogating the archives themselves, we can begin to dismantle the Eurocentric frameworks that have long dominated the field of art history.
Embracing Multiplicity: Towards a More Inclusive Art Canon
Decolonizing the art world also requires a fundamental rethinking of what constitutes “art” and who gets to define it. The Western canon has long privileged certain media, styles, and aesthetic sensibilities over others, often excluding the artistic practices of non-Western cultures. By embracing a more expansive and inclusive understanding of art, we can begin to recognize the myriad ways in which creative expression has manifested across the globe.
This means looking beyond the traditional fine art categories and engaging with a wider range of artistic practices, from textile arts and ceramics to performance and digital media. It also means centering the voices and experiences of artists from the Global South, whose work has often been marginalized or misunderstood within Eurocentric frameworks.
Moreover, we might want to be attentive to the ways in which artistic traditions have been shaped by cross-cultural exchange and collaboration. The work of artists like Nicola Saig, who drew upon diverse visual languages, reminds us that the history of art is fundamentally a story of interconnection and hybridity. By embracing this multiplicity, we can begin to build a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of art’s global legacies.
Conclusion: Towards a Decolonial Future
Navigating the fraught legacies of European representations of Africans and other non-Western subjects is a complex and ongoing challenge. However, by centering decolonial methodologies and embracing a more expansive, inclusive understanding of art, we can begin to chart a path forward.
This process requires a fundamental rethinking of the art world’s dominant frameworks and institutional structures. It means collaborating with marginalized communities, recontextualizing problematic artworks, and challenging the Eurocentric narratives that have long held sway. Most importantly, it demands a willingness to confront the difficult histories and power dynamics that have shaped the field of art history.
Ultimately, the goal is to build a more equitable, just, and inclusive art ecosystem – one that recognizes the global diversity of creative expression and the agency of the communities it has long marginalized. It’s a tall order, to be sure, but one that is essential if we are to truly “own the exotic” and chart a decolonial future for the arts.
Example: Pencil Portrait Challenge 2024